Abstract
M.Com. (Industrial Psychology and People Management)
The present investigation is positioned at a crucial juncture in the field of positive psychology
where considerable enthusiasm has seen a growing proliferation in research and practice
that has outstripped the ability of the field to maintain a sense of meta-theoretical integrity
and domain identity. In this study a meta-theoretical taxonomy of positive psychology is
developed in order to meet the pressing need for sound meta-theoretical integration that is
necessary to facilitate a multiplicity of possible futures for the field of positive psychology.
This proposed meta-theoretical taxonomy delimits the dominant constructs in the field
according to the taxonomical components of (1) Positive Characteristics, (2) Healthy
Processes, and (3) Positive Outcomes.
The utility of the developed meta-theoretical taxonomy in organizing dominant constructs
within the field informs the central research problem. This problem is addressed by
identifying 33 dominant positive psychology constructs, grouping them according to the
theoretical principles of the proposed taxonomy, and then empirically examining whether the
theoretical organization has utility in explaining latent factor structures and loadings of data
for these constructs in the research sample. The research sample employed consisted of
904 undergraduate students at the University of Johannesburg. There were 694 women,
208 men and two individuals with undeclared gender in the sample. These participants
represented a diversity of self-declared ethnicities: Black (630), Coloured (59), Indian / Asian
(47), and White (164). Within the sample there were 19 different home languages that can
be summarized as: Afrikaans (47), English (258), Indigenous South African (588), and other
(9).
In order to compare the theoretical organization of the 33 dominant constructs with
empirically determined data, a 483 item questionnaire was developed and refined using
Rasch modelling. The development of the measure of the identified constructs was informed
by contemporary theory and measurement pertaining to each of the specific constructs.
Following the refined measurement of the constructs, factor analytic procedures were used
to determine latent factor structures for the 33 constructs. The latent factor structure and
factor loadings of the specific constructs were then compared with the theorized organization
determined by the proposed model.
The central finding of the present investigation is that the theorized taxonomy is able to
account for a deep theoretical conceptualization as to the functioning of the facets of the
identified dominant constructs. This greater insight into the functioning and structure of the constructs within the field of positive psychology has profound implications for the manner in
which constructs can be understood and for the manner in which these constructs can be
elicited and practiced. Collectively, the meta-theoretical components of (1) Positive
Characteristics, (2) Healthy Processes, and (3) Positive Outcomes represent an important
meta-synthesis that serves to meet the pressing call for the firm theoretical integration
necessary to secure an array of sustainable futures within the field of positive psychology.